A 17 year old black teen from Chicago, Illinois identified as Stephen Thomas has been accepted to more than 30 colleges and awarded a total of over $1 million in scholarship offers.
The black teen who is a senior student at Chicago’s Bogan Computer Technical High School is set to graduate with a 4.47 GPA.
Thomas who was raised by a single mother, alongside 6 other siblings, didn’t only excel academically, but he also participates in several clubs and extra-curricular organizations.
Speaking with NBC Chicago, Thomas mother said;
“No matter what life presents you just go for it you write your own story we know there are narratives out here about our black boys but it is our responsibility to change that narrative,”
Thomas determination has indeed paid him off as he recently received acceptance letters from more than 30 colleges, including Loyola, DePaul, Northern Illinois, and North Central. He was additionally offered more than $1 million in scholarship offers.
In his words, thomas said;
“When I am recognized, I won’t just have been another Black teen on the news for something bad like gang violence or me getting wrongfully shot. I want people to look at me and be like ‘wow he’s really out there doing something that we really thought we couldn’t do just because of how he looked,”
It’s not impossible. Again, I am just a kid from Chicago that put the work in and put the time in, and [hopefully] somebody else is seeing this and they’re like ‘wow I can do it too.” – Thomas added
Credit: blacknews
